Modern data processing systems can provide a preview of a file, such as a word processing document or a spreadsheet or a PowerPoint presentation, or a PDF file, etc. without having to launch the application which created the file. The application which created the file can be considered or referred to as a native application. The preview can be generated by a non-native application which cannot edit or create the file, while the native application can edit or create the file. In prior art systems, the presentation of a preview occurs in a preview window or panel which allows a limited set of uses by the user. The user can present the preview panel and move the preview panel and close the preview panel, but is otherwise limited in the ability to interact with the preview panel.
Prior art systems also include the ability to allow the user to interact with files in a file management system, usually through a user interface program such as the Finder program which is provided on the Macintosh Operating System (Mac OS X) or other programs which are similar to the Finder such as Windows Explorer on Windows operating systems from Microsoft of Redmond, Wash. By using these programs, a user can change the location of a file within a file management system or delete a file or perform other operations on the file using the capabilities of the file management system and the user interface for that file management system.